PRIVATE TOUR-ONE WATT HOUSE
• a 2000 ft2 house heated with only twenty 100W incandescent light bulbs or one powerful hair dryer!
• a 300 ft2 living room heated with 10 candles.
• Spending less than $1 a day to heat an average-sized Midwestern home.
Let’s visit our own local One-Watt House in LaFox for a private tour on Tuesday, Sept. 28th. The owner, Marko Spiegel. is an engineer and entrepreneur born and educated in Germany. His lifelong passion for building along with a desire to conserve and innovate in construction led him to launch Conservation Technology International. (Marko also works on redesigning existing homes-see aricle at bottom of page)
To lessen our own impact we’ve gotten a van to accomodate the first 8 RSVP’s, we’d like to ask you to meet us in the parking lot across the street from the Centre & Library. The rest of us will just carpool.
RSVPs are necessary so Marko knows how many people to expect. Additional questions: Sandy Kaptain sakaptain@gmail.com
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=364413
and their website
http://www.conservationtechnologyinternational.com/
Jarrod McKenna, the Australian peace & environmental activist
Fox Valley Citizens For Peace & Justice is pleased to co-sponsor along with with Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren and ECCO the upcoming appearance of Jarrod McKenna, the Australian peace & environmental activist. Jarrod is active in The Peace Tree Community, Together for Humanity, and the award-winning initiative Empowering Peacemakers in Your Community.
That’s at 6:30 PM at
Highland AVenue Church of the Brethren
783 W Highland Avenue
Elgin, Il 60123
Plan to listen and learn from this dynamic speaker. Discussion will follow.
EPYC’s Founder and Creative Director Jarrod McKenna and his team have gained permission from the Education Department to conduct these seminars which use music, media and visual arts to engage students in engaging our world.
“Around the world there is an emerging generation of young leaders who are rediscovering the radical implications of Jesus message and are letting their lives speak of these alternatives to the cycles of violence, poverty and environmental destruction. Jarrod McKenna is one such young leader Australia has to offer, and his EPYC program promises to empower many more.” Rev. Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia
June 3rd -Tour of Elgin Passive Solar & Geo-Thermal Home
Tour Dirk Dypold’s, of Advanced Geothermal Plumbing & Heating, home . Check out his passive solar system, his geothermal setup, and his rain garden too. He’ll follow this with a discussion on geo-thermal. All are welcome! Thursday, June 3rd @ 7PM at 323 S. Commonwealth-Elgin.
Earth’s Changing Climate
Lecture Three
At the Elgin Public Museum
Ice Ages and Beyond
Thermometer-based temperature records go back only 150 years. This lecture explores the techniques scientists use to push global temperatures back thousands, millions, and billions of years. In particular, we’ll explore the cyclic pattern office ages punctuated by brief warmer spells. Our understanding of this pattern involves a complex interaction among astronomical effects on Earth’s orbit and axis, along with feedback effects that drive changes in the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other gases. The picture of past climates developed in this lecture will be important in the next few lectures, where we seek to understand the scientific principles that establish climate, and in later lectures where we show why recent climate change is largely attributable to human activities.
Lecture Four
In the Greenhouse
What determines a planet’s temperature and, thus, establishes its overall climate? Ultimately, stable climate results form a balance between incoming solar energy and heat that a planet radiates to space. Well-established fundamental principles of physics govern that balance. But a planetary atmosphere complicates the picture, absorbing outgoing energy and, thereby, altering the energy balance. The result is the greenhouse effect, which can keep a planet significantly warmer than it would otherwise be. For Earth, the naturally occurring greenhouse effect – mostly the result of atmospheric water vapor and, to a lesser extent, carbon-dioxide – warms our planet by nearly 60°F (33°C) over what it would be absent these gases. Changes in atmospheric composition will alter the quantitative value of this greenhouse effect, and that’s the primary reason for concern about human-caused climate change.
Coming Soon! Elgin’s Green EXPO
Elgin’s Premier Green Event – Family Friendly -Free Admission
Celebrate, explore and take in the remarkable cornucopia of sustainable living ideas, services and products in our community.
Hundreds of exhibitors coming together in one location-once a year! This year we’re pleased to be partnering with the City of Elgins Sustainability Master Planning Committees, Elgin Heritage Commission, and most recently Elgin High School. From gigantic wind turbines to wiggly worms…from the City’s largest yard sale to a live recycled art show…..from the largest selection of native prairie plants to kids seed necklaces….from Farmers Market to handcrafted goods.
Speakers & Presentations
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How to retrofit your home without going broke
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Successful home landscapes with low maintenance native plants
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Greening Elgin’s Food Industry
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How do you do a One-Watt House
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Elgin’s Tree Assessment Survey
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What the heck do you do with those pesky plastic bottles & other tossable horror stories
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Big Lights Out-March 27th @ 8:30
We’ll be at In The Neighborhood Deli, 185 Edison in Elgin for a lights out mellow night! This is from our good friend Mary Alice:
Friends,
Just a reminder that Earth Hour is this Saturday at 8:30 pm local time. Millions of people worldwide will be turning out the lights for one hour and making a collective statement of concern about our planet. Together, we can turn out the lights on pollution and climate change and show that we care about our country, our planet and our future.
Participation is easy. By turning off all non-essential lighting for one hour, we can join cities, states, businesses, individuals and government leaders throughout the world in calling for action to save our planet for future generations.
Earth Hour began three years ago and is now the largest event of its kind in the world. In 2009, nearly one billion people from 4,100 cities in 87 countries shut off their lights, along with international landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramids and the city skylines of Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv. www.EarthHour.org
Mary Alice
P.S. I hope to be taking a walk under the nearly full moon during Earth Hour!
How to retrofit your home without going broke!
Simple steps any homeowner can follow for the whole house. Cost effective ways to retrofit your home ~ update appliances ~Tax credits ~ City programs to offset these costs.
Moderated by Jennifer Fritz-Williams, Elgin’s Historic Preservation Specialist
RSVP here as a comment or Become a Fan of
our Facebook Page @ Elgin Climate Change Organization
Thursday, April 1st @ 6:30 P.M.
Elgin Public Museum in Lord’s Park
Free Admission
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Solar Power in Elgin
An overview from technology to installation in residential and commercial buildings, specifically in Elgin. Is it doable here, what’s the cost, is there financial assistance, what’s the return on investment, the zoning/permit issues….what’s new on the horizon.
Join us as Solergy Alternative Energy Solutions gives us the nuts & bolts on Thursday, Feb. 25th @ 7PM at the wonderful Elgin Public Museum, 225 Grand Blvd., Elgin 847 741 6655
RSVP by adding your name in the comment section here, or RSVP to the event post we have on our Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Elgin-Climate-Change-Organization/322600679777?ref=nf
Solergy website: www.solergy.net
WALL-E
What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn the last
robot off? The year is 2700 and WALL-E is a robot still spending every day
doing what he was made for. Soon he is visited by a sleek robot named’
EVE whom he chases across the galaxy with a pet cockroach and
a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.
Gail Borden Public Library-Community Rooms
Sponsored by Elgin Community Network, Elgin Climate Change Org & Gail Borden Public Library
Trim Your Holiday Waste-Line!
5 Savy ladies & 1 Terrific Chef present live demonstrations of inexpensive, innovative and eco-friendly ways of giving & wrapping gifts, tips for decorating your home & table and preparing sumptuous holiday goodies & feasts. Free Admission PLUS Door Prizes. Co-Sponsored with ECN, Gail Borden & City of Elgin. Gail Borden Public Library-Community Rooms.
Green Holidays
350 FREE TREES TO THE FIRST 350 VISITORS
Saturday, October 24th, at 9:30 AM, Gail Borden Public Library Rotunda
Scientists say that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity-we’re currently at 387.81. We’re going the wrong way- so let’s reverse the trend-starting here at home! Join us, take the pledge, plant a tree and make a difference!
Be a part of International Climate Change Action Day here in Elgin. ECCO in partnership with Davey Tree, the League of Women Voters-Elgin Area, the Gail Borden Public Library and 350.org will be giving away 350 norway spruce tree plantings to the first 350 visitors to the library.
See other actions around the world http://www.350.org/
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GREEN YOUR HOME FOR THE WINTER
Hear Sandy Kaptain’s ideas, and share yours, on Greening your Home for the Winter. Let’s pool our information, save money and our environment! When we do this together it’s much easier and more fun! Join us October 27th @ 7PM at In The Neighborhood Deli, 185 North Edison (P.S. No dinner this time!)
2009 Illinois Solar Energy Tour
Saturday, October 3rd 10AM-3PM…Homes that bask in the sun!http://tour.illinoissolar.org/
Getting Past Gas
Got Goat..GotGas!
Oct 4th 3-5PM @ Gail Borden Public Library Community Room A & B.
Learn how to use less petroleum for food, transportation, energy & more. The always cutting-edge Donna Askins, who knows more about freeing us from our dependence on oil than most, will moderate. There will also be a petting goat for the children, or that child in us. Please register at www.gailborden.info -they like to know how many are coming in advance, and so would we. This program sponsored by LWV-Elgin Area, ECCO & the Gail Borden Public Library.
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PrarieFest
Join Us
Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, 39W830 Highland Avenue, Elgin
This year’s event “Ethical Choices for Sustainable Living” will feature presentations on Planting/Gardening, Food, Transportation, Green Cities, Energy, and Investing/Business. Many phenominal vendors & panel discussions going on all day. Also, check out their community garden! www.uucePF.com
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What is 350?
And why is it important?
Discover 350
The Arctic is sending us perhaps the clearest message that climate change is
occurring much more rapidly than previously thought.
The danger predicted for 2090 is now expected to occur before 2015.
Tuesday, September 22nd @ 6PM for “EAT YOUR YARD’
& 7PM for the 350 program moderated by Bill Bailey
at In The Neighborhood Deli
185 North Edison – Elgin
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